Adapter for incandescent electric lamp bases



1951 J. w. HIPELIUS 2,564,974

ADAPTER FOR INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC LAMP BASES Filed Jan. '7, 1949 INVENTOR.

JOHN W. HIPELIUS BY Patented Aug. 21, 1951 ADAPTER FOR INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC LAMP BASES John W. Hipelius, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Bell & Howell Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 7, 1949, Serial No. 69,770

4 Claims.

My invention relates to an adapter for incandescent lamp bases of the type disclosed and claimed in the co-pending U. S. patent application of Albert S. Howell, Serial No. 757,435, filed June 27, 1947, now Patent No. 2,504,419, issued April 18, 1950, for improvement on Incandescent Electric Lamp, Socket, Lamp, and Adapter Therefor, and objects of the invention reside in the provision of an adapter of the above type which may be considered an improvement on the adapter of said application, which is of simple construction and susceptible of economical quantity manufacture, which provides for adequate ventilation through a socket of the type disclosed in said application and by the base of a lamp installed in the socket, which provides for accurate and rigid positioning of the lamp in the socket, which provides for adapting the conventional base of an incandescent electric lamp for the socket disclosed in said application, and which provides for conveniently attaching the adapter to a lamp base in a neat and unobtrusive manner.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a method of producing the adapter of my invention which is economical and adapted for quantity production.

The invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of an incandescent electric lamp socket having an incandescent electric lamp, equipped with the adapter of my invention, installed therein;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same with the center contact assembly of the socket removed;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the adapter of my invention; and

Figure 4 is a plan view of the blank from which the adapter is formed in accordance with the method of my invention.

Referring to the drawing, a main lamp socket part or body I, see Figures 1 and 2, of molded insulating material is provided with a large verti-cal bore 2 therethrough, and molded in the body I and disposed in coaxial relation with the bore 2 is an annular metal contact member 3' having the same internal diameter as that of the bore 2. The body I is provided at the bore 2 with three recesses 4, 5 and 6 angularly spaced about the axis of the bore in circumscribing relation therewith and extending downwardly to the contact member 3 and exposing corresponding portions of the upper surface of the same to form upwardly facing contact portions, the recess 6 being of greater extent angularly of the bore 2 than the recesses 4 and 5 for a purpose hereinafter appearing.

The socket body I and the contact member 3 are adapted to have the body 1 of an incandescent electric lamp 8 passed downwardly through the bores thereof, and the base of the lamp is provided with a circumferential metallic contact, comprising the adapter of my invention and generally designated at 9, arranged angularly about the lamp base axis and extending laterally thereof outwardly beyond the lamp body and adapted to engage in the recesses 4, 5 and 6 and downwardly on the contact member 3 to position the lamp, the adapter 9 being of generally annular character and engaged about and secured, as hereinafter described, to the usual outer cylindrical conductive member H of the usual base of the lamp and insulated from the usual conductive end contact 1 2 of the lamp base.

A socket cap I3 of insulating material carries a conductive end contact 14 which is spring urged, as by a spring I5 operative between the cap and this end contact, into contact with the end contact 12 of the lamp base when the cap is in position overlying the socket body I, as shown in Figure 1, to maintain the end contact 14 in contact with the end contact 12 and to maintain the lamp in the socket with the contact member 9 in contact with the contact member 3. The cap I3 is releasably secured in this position and is pivot-- ally mounted on the socket body, by means un-- necessary to be described, for movement from the: position shown in Figure 1 to a position permitting insertion of the lamp in the removal of the lamp from the socket body.

The adapter of my invention forming the contact member 9 of the lamp base, see Figures 1, 2 and 3, comprised as follows:

A substantially hexagonal collar, see particularly Figure 3, has alternate long and short sides and the triangularly related long sides I 9 thereof form arms and have their intermediate portions engageable with the outer cylindrical conductive mem'ber II of the lamp base for securing thereto. The sides of the collar are of greater width than thickness and the short sides I1, 18 and 19 thereof are disposed with their Widths extending in the plane of the contact member 9, and the long sides are disposed with their widths extending transversely of said plane, thus providing a structure of skeletal character which possesses relatively great rigidity.

The short sides of the adapter constitute contact portions and to this end the short sides I! 3 and I8 are provided with contact tongues 2| and the short side l9, which is of greater angular extent than the short sides I! and I8, is provided with two spaced contact tongues 22 respectively disposed at the ends of this short side, and the contact tongues 2| and 22 extend outwardly from the short sides. The short side I!) is also provided at its outer portion with an additional tongue 23 which extends therefrom transversely of the plane of the adapter. erably as shown, the widths of the long sides It extend transversely of the plane of the adapter in one direction from the short sides ll, 3 and I9 and the tongue 23 extend'sitransversely of said plane in the other direction from the short sides.

The adapter being engaged about the outer cylindrical conductive member H of the lamp base with the intermediate portions of the arms I5 engaging the same, the intermediate portions of the arms l6 are secured to the contact member as by solder with the-adapter in'adjusted relationwiththe filament-of the'lamp, and to provide for conveni ntly soldering the adapter to the conductive member H. of the lamp base and to provide a neat unobtrusive solder joint between the adapter and this conductive member, the intermediateportions of the arms Id of the adapter are provided with inwardly facingrecesses 2 5, preferably formed by'extrusion,-into which solder 25 in the form of pellets are engaged before the adapter. is engaged on the conductive memberv H and in which the solder is mainly confined during. the fusion thereof with the adapter and conductive member As shown, theadapter is secured. on the lamp base withthe tongue 23 extending in the direction of the lamp body I, and'is engageable in a vertical slot 26 through the contact member 3.

at the intermediate portion of the recess 6..

When the lamp 8' is mounted in the socket body I, as shown in Figures 1- and 2, the: contact tongues 25 are respectively engaged in the res cesses' andii. and the: contact tongues 22 are engaged in the recess 6 which is of .greater angular extent than .the recesses 4- and 5 to accom'or date the tongues 22 and. 23, and the-tongue; 23

beingengaged in the's1ot'26Lto' locate the lamp angularly in the socket body, ,thegtonguesll and 22 engage downwardlyon the contact member 3 and accurately locate the: lamp, the tonguesbee ing held in such engagement by downwardpressure of the spring urgedendsocket contact I l upon the end contact l2 of fthezlamp base. The widths of the armslfi of the adapter being dise posed transversely tothe plane ofthe adapter, their widths extend longitudinally of the socket body and lamp so that'they provide air' passage of relatively great area through thesocket .body and by the lamp base'for adequately cooling'the same by an air current .through'theisocket body and by the lamp base.

The adapter is preferably produced by the method of my invention which comprises as fol lows:

A collar 27, see. Figure 4, isblanked, as by means of a blanking die, from conductive sheet material such as sheetmetal. The collar, as so blanked, is of generallyhexagonal'form having the alternate long sides [6 and shortsides-i'l, H3 and E9 of appreciably greater width than thickness, the contact tongues 2| and 22 and the tongue 23 of the adapterpof Figure 3 in a common plane but otherwise all related as above de: scribed with reference:to:the.adapter. 9"of Figuree3. Preferably, the rec'essese24 areiormeddn Pref the intermediate portions of the long sides It of the blank before the blank is formed into the adapter. The collar 2'! havin been so 'blanked, the long sides l6 and the tongue 23 are bent with respect to the short sides l8 and I9 facewise of the blank, as by means of a forming die, into transverse relation with the plane of the adapter and the short sides ll, l8 and I8, thus forming the adapter 9 of Figure 3.

While I have thus described my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the precise details described, as changes may be readily made without departing from the spirit of my invention, but having thus described my invention, I claim as' new and desire to secure by Letters Patent the following:

1. An adapter in the form of a conductive contact member of generally annular character adapted to be engaged about and secured to an outer cylindrical conductive member of an incandescent lamp base, comprising a substantially hexagonal collar having alternate long and-short sides and the long sides of which form arms and have their interm diate portions engageable'with said cylindrical conductive member for securing thereto, and said sides being of greater width than thickness and said short sides being disposed with their widths extending in the plane of the contact member and said long sides being disposed with their widths extendingtransversely of said plane.

2. An adapter in the form of a conductive contact member of generally annular character adapted to be engaged about and secured to an outer cylindrical.conductive member of an incan descent lamp base, comprising a substantially. hexagonal collar having alternate long and short sides and the long sides of which form arms'and have their intermediate portions engageable with said cylindricalconductive member for securing thereto, said sides being, of greater width than thickness and said short sides being disposed with their widths extending in the plane of the contact member andzprovided'with contact tongues extending outwardly therefrom, and said long sides being disposed with their widths extending transversely of said plane.

3. An adapter in the form of a conductive contact member of generally annular character adapted to beengaged' about and secured to an outercylindrical conductive member of an incandescent lamp base, comprising a substantially hexagonal coll'ar'having alternate long and short sides and the long sides of which form arms and have theirintermediate portions engageable with said cylindrical conductive member for securing thereto; said sides 'b'eingof greater width than thickness and said short sides being disposed'with their widths extending in the plane of-the contact member: and one of said short sides being provided at its outer portion with a tongue extendingltherefrom transversely-of said plane, and said'ilongisides being disposed with their Widths extending transverselyof said plane.

l. An adapter in the form of a conductive contact member of generally annular character adapted to be'engag'ed about and securedto an outer cylindrical conductive member of an incandescent lamp base, comprising a substantially hexagonal collar havingalternate long and short sidesandthe longside's-of which form' arms and haveitheirlintermediate portions engageable with said. icylindrical conductive' memberfor securing thereto; said. sides being of greater width thanthickness andzsaid' short sides b'eing disposed with 5 6 their widths extending in the plane of the con- REFERENCES CITED tact member and said short sides being provided The following references are of record in the with contact tongues extending outwardly therefile of this patent: from and one of said short sides bein provided at its outer portion with an additional tongue extending therefrom transversely of said plane, and UNITED STATES PATENTS said long sides being disposed with their Widths Number Name Date extending transversely of said plane. 1,259,752 Laird Mar. 19, 1918 1,901,820 Parker Mar. 14, 1933 JOHN W. HIPELIUS. 10 2,236,357 Stechbart Mar. 25, 1941 

